Print Topic - Archive

This is my first post here so I hope I've posted in the right place! :)

I read the Genotype diet last year and my husband bought me the Swami kit for Christmas - it seems I'm a Swami typed Explorer (although according to the book I'm a Gatherer). I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all! I don't know if this sounds odd, but if I am to adhere to the food lists I will be eating much more than I do already! Except for the fats - they are very low indeed - 6 tbsp oil a week and up to 5 tsp ghee or butter.

Just a little bit about myself to introduce myself - I did the O type diet for about two years a number of years ago and felt great on it but didn't lose any weight which I would have liked. Since letting my eating habits slide badly I've put on more weight, currently 149 lbs, and am generally feeling run down. Low energy, skin rashes and I'm also becoming afraid that I will get a serious illness if I don't sort my diet out soon - I feel like I'm getting old.

Anyway, the point of my message is this: I don't think I can go cold turkey on this diet - too many responsibilities etc - so I was wondering what to prioritise. I am guessing that I should eliminate wheat (although Swami lets me have whole grain spelt flour) and dairy products (except for the allowable stuff). One of my main issues is that I eat a lot of sugar these days, so that should probably go too. Is there a hierarchy of the worst avoids for an O type Explorer?

Thanks for listening! I look forward to learning a lot here, and hopefully contributing too :)

I'd say that wheat, potatoes, and corn are the worst offenders for Os. If spelt is on your OK list, then it's fine to substitute spelt for all the wheat you used to eat, and that can be a permanent change. My Explorer daughters don't seem to react too badly to non-compliant dairy, so that can be something you change a little bit later. Start cutting back on sugars- if you can switch to compliant sweeteners right away, that's a good change to make. Reduce the portions over time, as cutting down carbs suddenly can lead to unstable blood sugar, crankiness, and intense cravings.

Also remember that what you DO eat is more important than what you don't eat. Make sure to eat plenty of vegetables (and plenty of fruit if your SWAMI gives you large portions of fruit. Mine doesn't.) Make sure to eat the right amounts of good quality protein. It's OK to temporarily eat more protein and fat than SWAMI calls for if it helps you get off the sugar.

Good luck!

Posted by: Rachie, Wednesday, January 2, 2013, 3:33pm; Reply: 3

Thanks, Lola, but that appears to focus on the BTD whereas I want to work with the Explorer diet. Some of the beneficials on the O diet are avoids on the Explorer diet and vice versa.

Yes, Ruthiegirl - I'd forgotten the thing about what I do eat being more important than what I don't. It's easy to get fixated on what you should cut out and forget that I should also be adding things! Extra fats and protein are going to be inportant, I think, to help me cut out sugars.

I'm sure I'll have lots of questions - as I say, I am finding this all rather overwhelming at the moment! Oh, and I get three servings of fruit a day, a serving being a cup or a medium sized fruit, and I am supposed to eat six cups of vegetables a day!!! I can't imagine how I'm going to do that - a cup is a lot!

Posted by: Lola, Wednesday, January 2, 2013, 4:21pm; Reply: 4

genotype diet is the ultimate in personalized nutrition, by means of a swami

you can contact bloodtypediet@gmail.com for guidance to suit your reality

or simply apply the general guidelines for explorer in the book if you do not wish to go the personalized route yet

Oh, and I get three servings of fruit a day, a serving being a cup or a medium sized fruit, and I am supposed to eat six cups of vegetables a day!!! I can't imagine how I'm going to do that - a cup is a lot!

If you plan 2 cups of veggies and 1 fruit for each meal, you won't have much room for avoids... Some protein or grain and each meal will be complete.

The most important thing you can do for you is to eat your veggies!

Posted by: ruthiegirl, Wednesday, January 2, 2013, 6:30pm; Reply: 6

Remember that greens shrink a LOT when cooking. 1 cup of raw spinach cooks down to about 1/3 of a cup- which means that 1/3 of a cup of cooked spinach is a full cup of veggies.

I suggest you make "eating enough fruits and veggies" a primary goal. It's OK if some of the fruit and veggie choices aren't fully compliant right now- that can come next week or the week after. But try to eat all your fruits and veggies before reaching for anything sweet. That should cut down the amount of sweets you have without making you cranky or hungry.

Since you're allowed so much fruit, you'll naturally have a lot of sugar in your diet and you may have a fairly easy time transitioning away from the refined stuff. My Explorer daughter also gets 6 cups of fruit per day on her SWAMI. Meanwhile, I only get 1/2 cup (1 serving of 1/2 cup.) The "eat fruit instead of refined sugar" trick wouldn't work for me.

Wheat is the worst I think. also at least try and cut down on diary and sugar.

but for weight reduce grain.

Posted by: prunella, Wednesday, January 2, 2013, 9:33pm; Reply: 8

Ruthie, thanks for the reminder that 6 cups of spinach or kale means 6 cups raw!I often forget that and get overwhelmed by the portion amounts.

Posted by: Lola, Thursday, January 3, 2013, 1:19am; Reply: 9

one less thing to worry about.....raw or cooked....nothing wrong with overdoing veggies ;D

Posted by: Rachie, Thursday, January 3, 2013, 11:30am; Reply: 10

Yes, eating enough fruit and veggies sounds like a good idea to start with. I've never tried very hard to do that before. When I did the O type diet years ago I focussed mainly on getting enough meat. The thought of 6 cups of veggies and 3 of fruit sounds like a huge challenge! :) I can imagine doing 2 cups fruit at breakfast (with some other things) and 2 cups of veggies for lunch and 2 for dinner, but that's still short of the overall goal. I understand how it's a good idea to think of 2 cups veggies and 1 of fruit for each meal, ABJoe, but I don't think I could stomach veggies for breakfast! :X

By the way, does everyone have to eat so many veggies on this diet, or is it just an Explorer thing (or specific only to a small number of people)?

Posted by: ruthiegirl, Thursday, January 3, 2013, 1:02pm; Reply: 11

My SWAMI only gives me 5 cups of veggies, and half a cup of fruit. I can't, however, feel satisfied on the quantities SWAMI gives me, so I usually go over on the veggies (and try not to go over on the meat, grains, veggie proteins, or fats.)

Posted by: Rachie, Thursday, January 3, 2013, 1:31pm; Reply: 12

Wow, I can never imagine going over on the veggies! I must admit that I eat veggies because they are good for me and not because I particularly like them :-/

Half a cup of fruit isn't much, is it? That would be difficult for those of us with a sweet tooth! :)

Posted by: ruthiegirl, Thursday, January 3, 2013, 3:48pm; Reply: 13

Actually, I have a hard time with fruit- it's hard for me to even eat the full 1/2 cup serving and maintain steady blood sugar. My blood sugar spikes then plummets and then I'm hungry again soon, and have a harder time keeping blood sugar stable the whole rest of the day. Start the day with fruit and I'm hungry all day (and end up eating way more than I should.) Have fruit for a bedtime snack and I wake up hungry in the middle of the night, unable to fall back to sleep without a snack. I have a little juice in green tea to start out the day, and maybe have some lemon juice in salad. Some days I eat trail mix- mostly nuts but with a few raisins added. That I seem to tolerate OK. But many days I don't have fruit at all except for an ounce or two of juice in my morning tea.

Posted by: Averno, Thursday, January 3, 2013, 4:08pm; Reply: 14

I've been reducing sugar intake for awhile now, and have come to the conclusion that even small amounts in fruit have a very negative effect on me. Everything you just described, Ruthiegirl, and more. As hard as it may be to do, I think everyone should commit a week or so to sugar-free eating, even fruit, just to see how or if it affects them. I'm not suggesting giving up fruit in the long run, but to get a baseline for dealing with unavoidable sugar intake.

I can imagine doing 2 cups fruit at breakfast (with some other things) and 2 cups of veggies for lunch and 2 for dinner, but that's still short of the overall goal. I understand how it's a good idea to think of 2 cups veggies and 1 of fruit for each meal, ABJoe, but I don't think I could stomach veggies for breakfast!

By the way, does everyone have to eat so many veggies on this diet, or is it just an Explorer thing (or specific only to a small number of people)?

FYI... Steamed carrots are good for breakfast... I have them quite often with my scrambled egg. It is only your mind set that keeps you from enjoying veggies at that time of day. ;) ;D

I'm also recommended 6 cups of veggies and 4 servings (cups) of fruit a day...

Posted by: Rachie, Thursday, January 3, 2013, 9:25pm; Reply: 17

Hmm, you've rung alarm bells for me Ruthiegirl about starting the day with fruit and getting a blood sugar spike and then a plummet ... I decided to have a smoothie - a banana, cup of blueberries, almond milk - and an egg for breakfast this morning but got hungry quickly after it. I think the egg helps, but perhaps not enough.

I can see the wisdom of a week or so of sugar free eating, Averno. I have trouble with sugar (it seems highly addictive) and I find it virtually impossible to quit. A week or so without it would provide me with a good baseline from which to work out how fruit affects me.

Policychecker, good luck with your low sugar version of Swami. I'd be starving if I ate what you ate today! Or perhaps all those supplements help. I haven't even begun to think about supplements yet - still struggling to get my head around eating so much veg.

I'm sorry, ABJoe, but steamed carrots and scrambled egg doesn't sound very appealing to me for breakfast, but I completely agree that it's our conditioning that makes us turn our noses up at veggies for breakfast :)

Try a frittata, sny cooked vegetable spread out on a frying pan. Pour beaten eggs on it and before it is done put it into the oven to finish. Kale and onions, mushrooms and cheese(if allowed), allmost anything.

Posted by: Rachie, Thursday, January 3, 2013, 10:58pm; Reply: 19

Thank you Gulfcoastguy. I don't like egg very much but I think I might be able to make it palatable with the addition of some parmesan cheese, which is allowed, and some herbs and spices.

Wow, I never thought I'd be contemplating eggs and veggies for breakfast!!! :)

Posted by: Lola, Saturday, January 5, 2013, 3:49am; Reply: 20

veggie omelet is an excellent choice as well

Posted by: RedLilac, Saturday, January 5, 2013, 3:52pm; Reply: 21

If you’re overwhelmed, change slowly over time. You’re already eating healthy food since you’ve been on the BTD and GTD. Start with adding the Swami beneficials that were not on your previous diets, then remove the new avoids, and finally adjust your portion size. You pick the time frame that is most comfortable for you. The most important thing is that you don’t get flustered and quit altogether. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will your healthy body be.

Posted by: Rachie, Tuesday, January 8, 2013, 4:56pm; Reply: 22

Hi RedLilac - actually, I'm not already eating healthy food. I did the BTD for a couple of years around 5 or 6 years ago. I really enjoyed the way it made me feel although I didn't lose any weight and would have liked to and I got tired of feeling so restricted by diet. One Christmas I ate too many chocolates and my willpower never returned and my diet has been pretty variable since then. Sometimes it's appalling. I never got on very well with GTD - I was a gatherer and I didn't like the gatherer diet in the book and when I heard about Swami my husband bought it for me for Christmas and I was excited to give it a go as I found I was an Explorer and I quite liked the look of the food lists.

I am overwhelmed by it all because I have a lot to change. I'm also disappointed in myself for knowing some basic dietary principles about what benefits me but I am so poor at adhering to them. I sabotage my own health. You are absolutely right that Rome wasn't built in a day. My problem is that I build a few walls and then knock them down again! ::)

I've tried eating better for a few days, but over the last few days I've felt rubbish and so my diet has suffered. I don't know how to break this cycle.

Posted by: ruthiegirl, Tuesday, January 8, 2013, 5:04pm; Reply: 23

You break the cycle by focusing on good foods to add in. Eat lots of protein, vegetables, and healthy fats. Then you eat the sugar-and-wheat laden treats for dessert- but you'll likely eat less of them, because you had healthy food first. You probably have intense cravings for both (sugars and wheat, and maybe even dairy) because these foods can literally be addictive.

You won't have the strength to give up the addictive foods until you're well nourished. It's more than just a lack of willpower- it's biochemical as well. So step one is to eat lots of good foods while still eating the bad ones.

Step two is to keep on eating the good foods and cut down on the bad ones.

Step three is to keep on eating the good foods and completely cut out the bad ones. (steps 2 and 3 can be done at varying times with different "bad foods.")

Step four is to adjust your portion sizes to maximize health and weight loss. It's fine to eat "too much of a good thing" while weaning off the addictive foods.

You also want to start exercising. Start with simple, attainable goals. Gradually work up to SWAMI's recommendations.

Posted by: Rachie, Tuesday, January 8, 2013, 5:15pm; Reply: 24

Thank you so much, Ruthiegirl. Maybe you've hit the nail on the head in your comment that "You won't have the strength to give up the addictive foods until you're well nourished." I have noticed that I can eat well for a day or two and that is often followed by a day of eating really really badly and then I'm off eating badly until I find the strength to eat well for a couple of days again ... and the cycle repeats.

Even though I started this thread asking about what are the worst avoids to avoid, I realise that in practice I was trying to avoid ALL of them. It looks like I need to almost forget what my Swami says and focus ONLY on eating lots of good foods and try not to worry too much about eating the bad ones ... for now. Once I have some good nourishment from lots of good foods, cut down on the bad ones, and so on, as you suggest.

Thank you for your support, I appreciate it. I've been having a rotten day today.

I've been reducing sugar intake for awhile now, and have come to the conclusion that even small amounts in fruit have a very negative effect on me. Everything you just described, Ruthiegirl, and more. As hard as it may be to do, I think everyone should commit a week or so to sugar-free eating, even fruit, just to see how or if it affects them. I'm not suggesting giving up fruit in the long run, but to get a baseline for dealing with unavoidable sugar intake.

Hi Rachie hope things get better soon for you...?! It is daunting at first but great that you are at least acquainted with the BTD & some great tips in this discussion... Love your comment "one Christmas I ate too many chocolates & my willpower just never returned" Early in Dec, I realised I needed to do something drastic, having gradually piled on weight in 2012 - partly due to losing my job & then facing several months of constant rejection, as well as allergies, where I'd not even know what I could actually tolerate... ::) Then after losing all motivation for anything - eating healthily, exercising, even housework (especially after a trip to Aus in June where I put on over 4 lbs after pigging out with family) ::) :o I couldn't seem to break the cycle, after the overload of wheat & sugar, so I knew I finally had to take myself back in hand!! So since early Dec I have managed to lose over 16lbs & have noticed along the way that I can only lose if I avoid all sugars/carbs AND exercise, plus drink plenty of water... The days I have stalled or even put back on a tiny bit, have been due to a few nibbles of homemade shortbread (even compliant) &/or a piece too many of fruit!! I can eat apricots & an odd few slices of orange, but any other fruit with a higher fructose ratio to glucose stalls things ( as does white rice flour - in the shortbread)! One day just 8 cherries really got me & I gained ??) Sure enough the fructose is way higher in them :o it has been really helpful to discover that, as I love fruit & veg but either group can have that imbalance!! I'm ok as long as I stick to that principle.. I think carrots may even have too high proportion of the wrong sugars btw :-/

I've tried eating better for a few days, but over the last few days I've felt rubbish and so my diet has suffered. I don't know how to break this cycle.

I've incorporated having 1-2Tbls. of flax seed oil daily and if I'm feeling hungry when I shouldn't, I'll have 1Tbls. of flax oil immediately and the hunger goes away. My brain works better and I don't have to be distracted with unnecessary food cravings. Works every time! :)